From trucking companies to homebuilders and farmers, the rapid rise of diesel prices continues to take a toll on local companies.
As the average price of diesel fuel in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton market rose to $6.52 as of Thursday — up roughly $2.50 from last year and nearing the record high of $6.62 set in May 2022 — businesses face challenges and decisions.
The retail price of diesel fuel has four components: the refinery’s cost for purchasing crude oil; refining costs and profits; distribution, marketing, and retail station costs and profits; and government taxes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Association.
Freight trucks and trains — used for transporting goods — along with agricultural equipment and construction machinery run on diesel. When diesel prices increase, transportation costs usually spike, resulting in higher prices for consumer products.
Logan Brace, co-owner of Brace’s Orchard in Franklin Twp., Luzerne County, places plums into containers at the Co-op Famers Market in Scranton on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
Moises Peralta fills up with diesel fuel at Road Scholar in Dunmore on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
A Road Scholar trailer is positioned at a loading dock at the company in Dunmore. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Moises Peralta fills up with diesel fuel at Road Scholar in Dunmore on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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Logan Brace, co-owner of Brace’s Orchard in Franklin Twp., Luzerne County, places plums into containers at the Co-op Famers Market in Scranton on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
Diesel prices climbed sharply in recent months as geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions continue to drive volatility in global energy markets, according to officials from GasBuddy, an app-based fuel-saving service. Higher oil prices, reduced refining capacity abroad, and tight global inventories have all contributed to rising diesel and gasoline prices, officials added.
Most diesel fuel moves by pipeline from refineries and ports to terminals near major consuming areas; however, barges and trains also move diesel fuel to terminals, according to the EIA. Additionally, trucks transport the diesel from the terminals to retail service stations and large-volume consumers such as vehicle-fleet operators, EIA officials added. U.S. petroleum refineries produce most of the diesel fuel used inside the country.
Logan Brace, co-owner of Brace’s Orchard in Franklin Twp., Luzerne County, felt the impact of the high prices Wednesday morning while filling up his tank on the way to the Co-Op Farmers Market in Scranton.
“It’s just another incurring expense that we can’t do anything about,” he said. “I was at the pump and it was $6.39 or $6.49 at the Turkey Hill in Scranton. I couldn’t believe it.”
Despite the challenging economic times, Brace stressed work on the farm must go on.
“We still need to get our produce harvested, so we’re still running tractors,” he said. “A year or two ago, it was pretty much half the price. The farmer way is, basically, if you think about it, you’ll lose your mind. You just need to continue to do the work and hopefully, at the end of the year, you make a couple bucks. It’s a little different than other businesses where they’re always worried about percentages. In farming, it’s just about getting the job done.”
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, noted there are several factors driving up fuel prices.
“The first problem for diesel is oil prices are now at multimonth highs,” he said. “The second problem is on top of a high input cost of oil, a major diesel producer is no longer exporting diesel. Russia has banned the export of diesel through October, and they’ve been doing that since July. Traditionally, on a normal day, Russia contributes more than 10% of the global supply of diesel.
“Diesel prices are going apocalyptic because suddenly there is too little supply.”
As an analyst, De Haan stated talk of a diesel export ban raised some concerns.
“That freaks me out because the government generally does not find balanced ground when it controls exports,” he said. “It’s very worrisome because it sends a very chilling, long-term message to refineries that the government can and will control your ability to run your business or who you can sell to. It also sends a chilling effect to the refining sector, and it may make them more reluctant to invest in increasing refining capacity.”
Chris Zaleski, co-owner of Denzal Construction in the Eynon section of Archbald, sees interest in new projects wane as diesel prices jump.
“New sales, especially people speculating what it’s going to be like in six months to a year, have slowed down dramatically,” he said. “This diesel, if it continues, in combination with the Canadian tariff wars, may be the nail in the coffin for homebuilding locally. I would say inflation, mortgage rates, tariff wars, diesel and fuel prices, and (locally) data centers are a perfect storm for homebuilding. The fuel is like the last straw.”
Zaleski believes smaller companies are taking the brunt of the diesel increases, which in turn impacts his business.
“Locally, the mom-and-pops, which are for the most part the majority of our vendors and suppliers, are the ones getting it firsthand,” he said. “Whether you’re moving big equipment, hauling, excavating, anything that you’re putting lots of diesel, it’s coming right through our front door. Between speculation on diesel prices and how it affects all our building, whether it’s labor or materials, combining that with the tariff war, which right now hit us in the gut, they’re saying prepare for an increase of over $10,000 a regular home. The customers we’ve been building for primarily over the last 20 years are pretty much priced out of the market. It’s been creeping for the last three years, but it’s really concentrated in the last 12 to 16 months and we’re speculating that it’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. There are just too many variables.”
The wild fluctuations in the pricing of materials also creates difficulties for homebuilding companies like Denzal.
“Lumber is going up erratically,” Zaleski said. “We’ve been building locally for over 20 years and we’ve never seen it this sporadic. We’re on a fixed contract, so we have to guarantee pricing at least a year in advance. We speculate what it could be based on the knowledge we have from our vendors and suppliers, but that can only go so far. It’s a juggling act to be competitive and affordable to keep sales going. We’re constantly quoting our vendors because it’s so up and down. Things that used to take us a few hours are now taking days, and customers are leaving our office with uncertainty because things are changing so rapidly.”
Continually rising diesel costs forced Road Scholar Transport in Dunmore to consider passing on more of the burden to customers, Vice President Kellie Barrett McMullen said.
“We’re seeing it at the pump but there is also a large impact on trucking companies in terms of empty miles,” she said. “Customers contribute to the price of fuel based on a fuel surcharge schedule. The empty miles any trucking company runs are exacerbated now because there’s no contribution, so we’re absorbing it, and it’s at a much higher rate per gallon. We’ve been closely monitoring the situation for about four months. We’re always trying to decrease idling and increase efficiencies. It’s our responsibility to keep the cost down for our customers and ultimately the consumer.”
As diesel prices near a record high locally, Barrett McMullen added Road Scholar has been forced to reconsider some of its previous policies.
“Conventionally speaking, the industry doesn’t bill for reefer fuel — a refrigerated trailer,” she said. “But it has become glaringly obvious that the amount of fuel we’re burning in the reefer needs to be something the customer has to contribute on when we have fuel prices this high. The equipment costs more so, realistically speaking, it costs more to transport refrigerated freight. At $6 a gallon of diesel, I’m burning $144 worth of fuel in a 24-hour window. At $3 a gallon, there is something built in for it. But when it starts to get up so high, we need to look at billing the customers.”
Based on discussions with industry officials, Barrett McMullen isn’t feeling optimistic about the future of fuel prices.
“Everyone I speak to does not anticipate the cost going down and the majority of our customers with whom I’ve spoken have blown past any budget they had in place for fuel contribution, as have we,” she said. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. I have rates with some of my customers, but there are load boards out there where shippers will put up a load and say ‘I’m going to pay this much from A to B.’ They’ve doubled — the rate to transport product is absolutely skyrocketing.”